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by Walter Fox

Those with a little trading experience under their belt will often hear the terms ‘gamma scalping’ and ‘theta decay’, but are confused by what they mean. This is understandable since gamma scalping is something typically utilized by professionals as part of their option trading strategies.

Defining the basic terms may help to clear up some of the confusion regarding this option trading tip. First, to reference ‘delta’ is to reference the rate at which an optionas value fluctuates. Second, when that change is a positive number, it is represented by agamma.a aScalpinga refers to the practice of achieving a small gain with buying and selling.

What unfolds now is a process called ‘gamma scalping,’ in which, one hopes, the trader is able to buy low and sell high. The basic concept seems quite simple, and is aimed towards reducing risk and maintaining the market in a fairly neutral zone. If everyone is scalping with too much regularity, this practice becomes a lot more complicated.

The concept of the gamma is reliant on the constant change, up or down, of the delta. A stationary level in the delta would create neither loss nor gain, and the option trading system would stagnate and fail. A helpful tip is to look at the length of time you have held your options.

Gamma in a positive state can mean negative theta, in which your option values decrease with time. Gamma scalping can earn you more, but your window of opportunity if by necessity smaller, as theta decay will sap the value of your option.

Some suggest that gamma scalping is a way to trade market volatility against implied market volatility. If the implied volatility can at least match the actual, then the trader wins. Unfortunately for the trader, if the implied volatility is less than the actual, then there is a loss. This is another reason why gamma scalping works most efficiently for short periods, but not for long.

The method may sound appealing, but many professionals consider them bad option trading tips due to their long term unpredictability. Also, one can take a look at the current state of our economy and know that it was further hurt by the many who found gamma scalping a helpful option trading tip.

Does this mean that this strategy is bad, unethical, or to be avoided? No, rather, care should be taken when considering this tactic. Used at its best and as it is intended, gamma scalping can be used to soothe the deltaas potentially flammable swings.

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